The Occultist/dialogue
In port *'The Occultist:' Ecstatic to see you again, darling. **'Player:' How are things? ***''Before The Brain:'' ****'The Occultist:' Oh, I'm just thinking about death, about you and about that delicious smell of onion soup that hangs about this place. ***''After The Brain:'' ****'The Occultist:' Well, I'm dreadfully pleased that we got the brain, of course. We should start searching for the body; soon, when I can muster up the energy. ***''After The Body:'' ****'The Occultist:' Could you imagine a simple life? A life where one isn't chased by narwhals while attempting rituals. Sounds dreadfully dull, doesn't it? ***''After The Blood:'' ****'The Occultist:' Well I simply can't wait for my date with Oroshu, the old perv. I've sent him a letter, so now we just have to wait. ***''After A Date with Oroshu:'' ****'The Occultist:' I am a little anxious. Whilst I'm desperate to perform the ritual, it will change everything... I'll let you know as soon as it's done. ***''After The Loophole:'' ****'The Occultist:' You've certainly given me a new lease of life, unless Quin rears her pretty little head again. ***''After Meet the Partner - Again'' ****'The Occultist:' I hoped Quin would redeem herself; we were very close once. I mean before she turned all crazy and everything. ****'The Occultist:' I'm glad we were the ones to do it, the ones to kill her. With a deaf whale of all things. It's your unpredictability that I've come to love. ***''After In Memory of Kirau'' ****'The Occultist:' I'm so glad that assassin girl, Ling, made peace with Kirau's family. ***''After Assault on Paradise'' ****'The Occultist:' Dreadfully happy! Now that Quin is dead, I truly am free. I'll miss her, of course, but that's a small price for an eternity of bliss. **'Player:' I wonder if you could help me. ***'The Occultist:' I am yours for eternity. **'Player:' Do you prefer to work alone? ***''Without the Missionary unlocked:'' **** The Occultist: 'I'm always eager to work closely with others. But I'd need someone with knowledge of old magic for us to come together as one. ***''With the Missionary unlocked and not present: ****'''The Occultist: Well - I've clapped eyes on a ravishing hunk of a cleric; a missionary, I believe. He's often here, nursing a pint and smouldering away in the corner. ****'The Occultist:' I don't know much about your gods and their magic, but with our knowledge pooled, Tomlin and I would be unstoppable. ****If both the Missionary and Occultist are in port at the same time, additional joint voyages will be made available. ***''With the Missionary unlocked and in port:'' **** The Occultist: 'I'd be delighted to work with Tomlin. Having a big gruff man of god around would certainly liven things up. **** '''The Missionary: '''Hrmph. Very well - we shall work together on this. **** '''The Missionary: '''As long as she keeps her HANDS to herself! ****(The Voyage List screen opens.)'' **'''Player: How's the life of the occultist? ***'The Occultist:' A blood ritual here. Fighting demons there. Oh, it can be SO dreary. ***'The Occultist:' But don't play coy, I've heard you're no strange to the arcane arts yourself. Your knowledge of runes is second to none. **Previous Cutscenes ***Meet the Occultist Only if she was not your first adventurer. ***The Brain ***The Body ***The Blood ***More ****A Date with Oroshu ****The Loophole ****Meet the partner - Again ****In Memory of Kirau ****Assault on Paradise The Brain Beginning: The Occultist: It is a delight and a pleasure to be in your presence. I am Zu Zu. Delirious to meet you again. The Occultist: Now, I have a rather unique proposition: I want to die. The Occultist: While that might seem swiftly resolved, I am also immortal. Player: Immortal? Wouldn't you want to enjoy your immortality, rather than die? The Occultist: Oh, immortality has its advantages, but it makes one something of a target. The Occultist: Tyrants want immortality for themselves, soothsayers - of all people - want to silence you permanently. Common, everyday problems, I'm sure you'll find. The Occultist: They're all following me, after my gift. Trouble is, I'm not the kind of lady to freely dish out immortality, certainly not to evil tyrants. As the saying goes, I'd rather die. Player: There must be other solutions. Why not stop them before they get to you? The Occultist: I'm handy enough with a concealed knife, but killing them all would take several lifetimes, no pun intended. Player: Isn't there a ritual; a spell that could remove your powers? The Occultist: Well, aren't you a clever puppy? Yes, I suppose there might be. Not that it's ever been tried on someone as powerful as me, of course. The Occultist: But there's not harm in trying. I have nothing better to do, since death is off the cards. The ritual requires three things: the brain, the body, and the blood. The Occultist: The brain is first. We'll find it at the centre of a living island, guarded by floating eyes. The eyes act as the brain's sensory system, I believe. Darling, would you help me carve a little brain? The Occultist: It was your idea, after all. And I would repay you handsomely. End: The Occultist: Brain matter is so cloying. Remind me to pack a purse and tissues next time we steal some brain. The Occultist: Still, we were wondrously successful. On to the body! It should be easier to get hold of than the brain, but life is rarely so well ordered. The Occultist: For now, we should rest. I'll return later with another delicious affair for us both. The Body Beginning: The Occultist: Darling - you look a delicious treat, as usual. I just want to pick you up, dip you in honey and nibble on you. The Occultist: But first, shall we continue our travails? The second element of the ritual is the body. We'll find it at the Keening Reef, where sea monsters go to die. The Occultist: As their spirit leaves them, they fall to the bottom of the sea and form the reef. Smaller fish then eat from the reef. It's the great circle of life, as tiresome ecologists will no doubt tell you. The Occultist: Anyway, we'll be wanting to steal a portion of it. It shouldn't be much of a trial - the sea monsters will be on their last legs, tentacles and assorted other appendages. End: Player: I thought you said that voyage would be easy! There was a warrior riding an albino narwhal! The Occultist: Oh, it sounds more marvellous than it is. The warrior's name is Discord. He's the official bodyguard of Quin, my previous employer. The Occultist: Quin is a seasinger - the most powerful the Eastern Lands has ever seen, and she is fascinated by eternal life. She wants to live forever, as is the wont of most tyrants, I suppose. The Occultist: I was the one put in charge of that pet project. She gave me everything I needed to research eternal life. Sacrificial subjects, old tomes, oiled man-slaves. The Occultist: But Quin wasn't always obsessed with immortality. That was the result of an assassination attempt. And she hasn't given up on the idea since I ran away: hence the bodyguard and albino narwhal following us. The Occultist: Needless to say, we should probably avoid Quin and Discord in the future. They've been yapping like dogs at my back for some time now, and they won't let up. The Occultist: Still, I'm tired. What do you say I have a nap, and we reconvene later to natter about the blood? The Blood Beginning: The Occultist: So, next on my rather unappetising shopping list is the blood. May I be honest and straightforward with you? This is the part of the ritual that I have been looking forward to least. The Occultist: It's not that it's difficult or harrowing. Oh no, it'll be the quickest of the tasks. The Occultist: The problem is sentimental, I'm afraid. The blood comes from corpse moss, which grows on the graves of sacrificed creatures. It means traveling to Aloft Dagger. The Occultist: I grew up there, sweetie. It brings back... memories. The soothsayers taught me within its walls, but my abilities were prodigious. They didn't know how to deal with me, and my powers soon outstripped theirs. The Occultist: They took exception to that, as many weaker individuals do. They kept me isolated and fed me very little. I was given mayflies and mosquitoes to sacrifice, but nothing bigger. The Occultist: Quin, the seasinger, got wind of me, and demanded my freedom. She took me into her employ, calling me her 'Occultist'. She gave me the remit to sacrifice anything: sea monsters, demons, even humans. The Occultist: There hadn't been an occultist in the Eastern Lands for decades. We were once numerous, until the khans got paranoid that the occultists might usurp them. The Occultist: So, the khans gathered their tridents and hunter them down. The Occultist: And, while the soothsayers will sacrifice a goat, chicken, or fish, they wouldn't dare stoop to killing talking, thinking creatures. That's the work of those very unsavoury occultists. The Occultist: Alas, the soothsayers now want to put me to death. That won't do them much good, of course, but I'm sure they'll find ways to inconvenience me. The Occultist: Anyway, darling, enough of the digression. The blood. Shall we? End: Player: What happened? The Occultist: It was Oroshu, the old pervert. He took the blood, body and brain from me and demanded that I travel to his island, Falling Blossom. Player: Who is Oroshu? And what does he want from you? The Occultist: He's a khan, darling, and he wants the fulfilment of an old promise. He wants me to marry him. Player: Why did you agree to that? The Occultist: I was desperate at the time! I was working for Quin, just after she had turned paranoid and genocidal - you know, when she was demanding the secret of eternal life. The Occultist: So I found eternal life, more by accident than anything else. I sacrificed a family of sea monsters and twister their intestines about each other in a spiral. The Occultist: I focused the ritual on myself and - miracle of miracles - nothing could damage me. I even threw myself off a roof to test it. The Occultist: As I fell from the tower, I had an epiphany. No one should get these powers. Who would be able to stop a person like that? Who would be able to stop Quin? The Occultist: So, I picked myself up, seduced Oroshu - who was visiting Quin - and made him promise to get me out in exchange for marriage. The Occultist: As he smuggled me out on his leisure barge, I kept a pin in my corset, ready to pick a lock and escape. The swollen pig. He's got two hundred wives already! I'd hoped he'd forget me. The Occultist: But, then again, who can forget a woman like me? The Occultist: Anyway, it seems that Oroshu and I have a little date. I'll powder my nose, sharpen my concealed knife, and I'll meet with you later, sweetie. A Date with Oroshu Beginning: The Occultist: Haha, proud, stupid Oroshu! Player: What has happened? The Occultist: I sent Oroshu a letter, promising a wedding today, but only if he made it a big occasion. I'd expect nothing less, I said: a parade in the streets, a festival in my name. And I wanted him to invite all the Khans and seasingers. Player: ALL of the seasingers? The Occultist: Yes! The fool, wallowing in his hubris, has sent an invite to Quin! Even if she doesn't attend, Quin will send lackeys to collect me, and the soothsayers will no doubt send forces. The Occultist: It has all the ingredients of a sumptuous farce, with me as the pretty, shining cherry on top! They whip themselves into a frenzy, and you take advantage of the chaos. Delicious! The Occultist: Your men steal in to recover the body, brain and blood - he's planning them as wedding gifts, darling - and then you can save your damsel. The Occultist: I'll be sure to swoon sufficiently. Oh, it is lovely to be fought over! End: The Occultist: What a sight! So many proud men, bickering over who has me. Now I know how the needy princesses from your fairy tales feel. The Occultist: Anyway, darling, I have a ritual to complete. Next time you see me, I should be eminently killable. The Occultist: If you're lucky, I might even decide to stay alive and hang around for a while... The Loophole Beginning: The Occultist: The ritual was a damp squib, darling. Player: What happened? The Occultist: Nothing happened, and that was very much the problem. The ritual wasn't strong enough. I shouldn't be surprised - it was only ever designed to remove the power from a soothsayer. The Occultist: Any soothsayer that got out of line, well, they got the ritual. There was talk of giving it to me at one point. Why keep me, when you can neutralise me? The Occultist: But I tried the ritual on myself, in my chamber. It failed. It simply wasn't potent enough to take my powers. The Occultist: And so I must admit something, darling. I'm not actually standing here with you. I'm leagues away, at a place called the Hole in the World. What you see in front of you is a projection - a simple spell, really. Player: Wait, you're not really here? What are you up to, Zu Zu? The Occultist: I left on a ship several hours ago. Don't worry, I paid for my own - I wouldn't want to endanger one of your vessels. The Occultist: I've come to the Hole in the World, so that I can throw myself into it. It's a little over-dramatic, I know, but it answers the problem, don't you think? The Occultist: So, here it is. Goodbye, darling, it's been an absolute pleasure. Player: No! Wait! I'm sending a boat to get you! Promise me you'll wait! The Occultist: I wish I could wait, but this is the only solution. The Occultist: Oh, typical. It seems I have company. Must go - Quin's bodyguard, Discord, is here, and I don't think he's a fan of the Hole in the World idea. The Occultist: Get away from me, Discord! End: The Occultist: Gah! Attempt to throw yourself into an eternal pit, and everyone tries to save you. It's endearing but ever-so-frustrating. Player: Icouldn't let you do that to yourself. You see, I have a plan. The Occultist: Your plan was a lovely diversion, my dear, but it failed. Player: Not that plan - Quin is the only one still after you. Oroshu is dead, the soothsayers are scattered and disorganised. There's only one person left who wants to capture you. The Occultist: We have thinned their ranks a little, haven't we? You're most persuasive - as convincing as a siren, but less blue and obsessed with your hair. The Occultist: Fair enough. We stay vigilant for the moment. I warn you, though: at the slightest hint of incarceration, I am throwing myself down the deepest well I can find. Player: Agreed. The Occultist: Good. Now, I'm going for a well-deserved bath. With that image I leave you, and hopefully we can talk more in the future. The Occultist: And thank you. It's the first time I've uttered those words. You should be proud. During random events Last Orders *'The Occultist:' Another drink? How delightful, but I mustn't. I simply shouldn't. A Simple Favor *'The Occultist:' Oh, get away from me, you repulsive little man. Category:Player-owned ports